He had already recovered in Game 1 of this conference semi-final, with 33 points, but with Ja Morant’s injury, Jaren Jackson Jr. could definitely no longer stay behind.
Without his playmaker, he has just compiled two matches at 21 points when he had not chained two games in a row to more than 20 units since February…
To launch him perfectly in this Game 5, Taylor Jenkins had offered him the first shot of the match, behind the arc. A paying choice since after the first quarter, the interior of the Grizzlies had already scored 10 points.
“He is the key”announces Dillon Brooks au Commercial Appeal. “They have no one to defend on him, to stop him. He must continue to ask for the ball and the Warriors will have to adapt and soon double up on him. He will have to learn to pass the ball to give shots to his teammates. We need to do this. I tell him to be aggressive. »
With 15 shots on average in this series against Golden State, Jaren Jackson Jr. shows a much sharper face than against Minnesota in the first round, where he was sometimes transparent (third and fourth innings) and far too harmless. In particular because of fault problems, his eternal cute sin.
“He’s going to be essential for the rest of the series”
Even his 0/7 at 3-pts in Game 4, lost by Memphis in the dying seconds, did not change Taylor Jenkins’ mind. He was right because his player stuck a 4/6 behind the arc in Game 5.
“I love the way he attacks”explains the coach. “Basically, it’s a game of chess. How are they going to defend against him? I want him to get into his game quickly, because he is an important factor in the early and late games. It’s going to be essential for the rest of the series. »
Draymond Green is the most qualified defensively to take care of Jaren Jackson Jr., but if the Warriors play “small ball”, they take the risk of seeing Steven Adams feast on the rebound (6 offensive catches in Game 5 for the former Thunder). How to counter this? Jonathan Kuminga is doing what he can and Kevon Looney is no longer aligned with Draymond Green.
If the Grizzlies insist with Jaren Jackson Jr. and if the latter is effective of course, they can press where it hurts. Ja Morant is in the infirmary, so without a high-level JJJ, Memphis’ chances of winning the series, and therefore the next two games, are slim.
“I have to be aggressive”concludes the interior. “I have to take what they give me. Depending on how they defend on me, I have to adjust. »
| Jaren Jackson, Jr. | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | MEM | 58 | 26 | 50.6 | 35.9 | 76.6 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 13.8 |
| 2019-20 | MEM | 57 | 29 | 46.9 | 39.4 | 74.7 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 17.4 |
| 2020-21 | MEM | 11 | 24 | 42.4 | 28.3 | 83.3 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 14.4 |
| 2021-22 | MEM | 78 | 27 | 41.5 | 31.9 | 82.3 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 16.3 |
| Total | 204 | 27 | 45.3 | 35.1 | 79.1 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.2 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 15.8 | |